Historical district hosts major ecological agriculture activities
NEVŞEHİR
Located in the central province of Nevşehir’s historical Ürgüp district, scores of locals dry tons of plums in the Bahçeli village, which has been recognized by the local authorities as an ecological agriculture site.
Since scores of local people dehydrate the yellow, black and pink plums cultivated in the region on house roofs in the village, they aim to provide both domestic and international markets with 160 to 170 tons of dried plums this year, as highlighted by the village headman, Kadir Korkmaz.
“We export dried plums to foreign markets, such as the U.S. and Azerbaijan. There is a rising demand since it is organic," Korkmaz pointed out.
In addition to such countries, their exportation efforts extend to even the Far East and European countries. As locals are able to execute both domestic and foreign trade through their efforts, this agricultural activity has become one of the main sources of revenue for the region.
According to Korkmaz, this activity has its roots in the drying of apricot practiced in the same region some 50 years ago.
“We first started with apricots. We are moving forward and considering going even further. Our potential for plums has begun to grow too,” he said, adding that they utilized some 600 tons of fresh plums this year.
“We have been exporting our goods for 10 years now. Our exports to both domestic and international markets are still rising. This helps around 100 families in our village of Bahçeli,” he further added.
One of the locals named Mustafa Özata, engaged in farming and animal husbandry, underlined that they introduce their goods to the market by generating added value and that they are unable to keep up with the demand in the village.
“We are boosting our tonnage with products from neighboring cities because the products in our village alone are not enough to meet the demand due to the recent increase in demand,” Özata pointed out.
He underscored that they both dry the apricots and plums using a method that is entirely natural. He further added that they also utilize plum seeds, as locals remove them during the drying process, using them in boilers and stoves for heating purposes.
